Body of claws
by Find-me-in-the-forest
Summary: Carlotta, a gifted Neuroscientist is transferred to Gotham city to carry out clinical trials on desperate citizens in order to find a cure for arthritis. On making positive progress in their short time there, she and her team become known throughout the city's medical elite. However, there are others with a more dangerous interest, an interest fulled by fear and determination.
1. Chapter 1

**Dear Reader,**

**Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I am planning on making this story into quite a long one using influences from the comic books as well as the film. I hope you enjoy the narrative and get as much pleasure reading it as I do writing it. Reviews and comments would be much appreciated. Thank you, R.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend to infringe the Batman franchise or its characters. I merely wish to expand upon the brilliance that has been created in order to fulfil my longing for more. **

There is power in every great leader; a power that can be sensed whether visible or not but with power comes a great paradox. Weakness lies at the heart of all of us and we try hard to disguise it but great leaders know how to hide it best. It is in making our weaknesses an illusion of strength that we may lead and lead well. It was the mask of Bane that people feared the most; pipes curling round like intertwining teeth, his eyes so penetrating as you were forced to look at his only human feature. But the mask, so terrifying, was his one weakness. It was a weakness that Bane and everyone who knew him feared and he knew that one day, should he lose that fear; his reign of chaos would fall from the high place of power he found himself in and dissolve with him.

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When people refer to the "gutter" when talking of a foul place Gotham is the image it provokes. The street lamps lighted a red running stream of filth from the man bleeding behind a dumpster, cats mewled as hunger consumed their bloated bellies, children trudged shoeless throwing punches for fun. The hospital, which was once a beacon for the victims of its horrid city lay quiet since the Joker blew it all up eight years prior. It had been rebuilt and painted fluorescent white, "a triumph" the mayor had said "a symbol of new hope". Indeed the city had seen a great improvement since Harvey Dent's heroic demise but when evil is driven from its conspicuous dwellings it finds darker places to carry out its mischief. Like so many others, the Batman had resolved to sweep the lasting problems in Gotham under its blood stained carpet and ignore all of those young boys going missing in the sewers.

I was a neuroscientist in London researching chronic pain in arthritis. My team and I had got to the point where we were curing arthritis in rats and then primates using stem cells so we were sent to Gotham's neuroscience laboratory to begin testing on human subjects. Dr Potts, our specialist said there would be many who would be willing to accept small amounts for our clinical trials.

"I expect a lot from you," Potts said to me. "We need someone who will take risks; a person who is brave. And a young girl like you is expected to make mistakes should it go wrong where as I have my reputation!"

The medical world would always be full Potts's and it should not have driven me to swap my suburban born lifestyle for surviving in a wild city. However, with my bottom lip pouting against him I went determinedly to take his backhanded compliment and show him I was the best he had. Despite having a team of four others with me I was the one who had a real eye for pain that the rest of those private school toffs had no idea of. I was four when I saw my mother's eyes bulge quickly outward then glaze over. Her furrowed brow turning soft as the metal railing we had crashed into impaled her abdomen. I had wondered, as I lay in wait for the fireman to cut me out of the cage of metal that had saved me, if she was hurting in that moment. Had she survived would she still be in pain? To my colleagues, our job was a fascination but to me it was taking away pain I see in people's eyes that they ignore. I will start small, I thought to myself. So that is how I came to live in Gotham amongst the world's most deviant in a city full of weeds whose roots the authorities could not pull out.

My apartment was in a new tower block in the good end of the city, the good end defined by the length of time it might take for you to get robbed. It was on the twentieth floor, low down compared to the buildings that surrounded mine as if I were in some strange bar graph where the correlation of results had all been anomalous. The apartment was decent size consisting of two double bedrooms should I have visitors, not likely considering I had no friends or family nearby, a little square kitchen and a gaudy bathroom protruding with curling gold knobs and taps. The walls were all white, each line connecting to another instead of the rolling features smoothly curving from room to room that I was used to in my little Victorian flat back in London. Despite it reminding me very much of the lab I worked in day to day, there was a quiet safety separating me from the unruly atmosphere outside. The first night I moved in I had the compelling urge to play _I'll Be Seeing You _by Billie Holiday out loud to drown out the modernity and take me back to my beautiful London suburb and the peaceful people who resided there. I never however, got any trouble from the neighbours since they themselves were all of a similar social standing and a trouble avoiding disposition. It made them fleeting and unfriendly, impossible to even say hello to for the less people you associated with in Gotham the less likely you were to run into someone undesirable. It was only the super-rich that seemed protected from this in their private residences and chauffer driven cars, lavish parties guarded by giant doormen and corrupt lawyers getting each and every one of them off. Yes, Gotham did not seem like a place I would settle down in as my intentions were in no way to stay for long but circumstances always do tend to muddle you up when you start making plans for the long term.

Gotham Neuroscience Laboratory was a fifteen minute drive from my residence. I could have easily walked it in five and avoided the traffic but our orientation advisers at the lab had insisted we drive so that in the evening when it was dark we might not wander into the shadows.

"They'll spot you in a flash you foreigners. Us locals walk for a reason but you guys you walk like tourists. They'll get you quick." said Carl our orienteer.  
"Who will?" I said.  
"A smarter question would be who won't."

And so every day I drove my little car only a portion of the way through the city to the lab I would remain researching at for only a few months before I was on Gotham's radar.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dear Reader,**

**Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. What do you think of my protagonist so far? I tried to stay away from anything revealing a sense of the way she looks so you might get a good idea of her character. Reviews and comments would be much appreciated. Thank you, R.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend to infringe the Batman franchise or its characters. I merely wish to expand upon the brilliance that has been created in order to fulfil my longing for more.**

I put on my navy pea coat in front of the slim wave shaped mirror. My cold, brown hair was bundled high on my head, wisps of stubborn locks falling out past my ears. It would have to do. Leggings were not as warm as jeans but I wore them for comfort. There is nothing worse than trying to reach for things in a lab when you are wearing jeans. I was excited to start testing. We already had a large batch of candidates ready to test our new remedy. I painted a thin line of eyeliner over my lash line and let it flick up slightly at the corners. The eyeliner always looked like I had made more effort than I did on my makeup. I couldn't wear mascara or foundation to work because the fumes from the lab would melt it down. My face was clean though, sterilised. It shone through powder like the surface of a balloon or tanned marble with a cherry blotch on each cheek. I didn't like much about myself like most girls but my skin was good and my waist was disproportionately small compared to my thighs. Other than that I was a remarkably ordinary looking twenty five year old.

I poked around at my muesli saving the fat raisins until last. They were succulent and jammy and soft. I thought I must get a fish or a hamster; maybe even a budgie to keep me company whilst I was in Gotham but it would not have been fair on the poor animal since I was gone most of the day. We had the option of living with members of our research team but I decided against it since the main talking point would have always been work. Despite this, I did look forward to seeing them every day. They were a little piece of home; a civilised bunch of young Brits.

"You won't find a man in America." said my mother before I left. "They are all too wild for you."

It was true I did have a tendency to wreck any kind of relationship I had with anyone because of my inability to lose control. I liked to always have a stringent plan, a map of my life lain out in front of me so that I might not get lost. Everything had to be for a purpose; Gotham was my opportunity to conquer a part of the medical world and advance my career. I barely expected any of the events during the following six months to happen. The scrape of my car keys on the work top as I got up to leave echoed in the hard, clinical kitchen. It was a symbol of my aloneness and yes; I was glad to be on my way to the lab.

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The laboratory was situated within a large, fluorescent white building, emitting the same lurid glow as Gotham City Hospital. People barged past me on the dirty street as I stood looking at it after leaving my car in a gated, underground car park. A thin blonde woman in a lab coat was talking to a pretty, round faced receptionist who I guessed was the one who decorated the black marble counter with plastic red Anthuriums. The blonde turned to me as I pushed my way through a stiff revolving door.

"I don't know whether either of you can help me but…"  
"Oh don't tell me! You must be one of the British researchers that we are so happy to have here." She said cutting me off. "And which one of them might you be?"  
"I'm Carlotta White; lovely to meet you miss..?"  
"Call me Katie Hun. I'll be working with you and my colleague Damien. He's the thin guy with a ponytail. Hear that Rachel?" She said to the receptionist "Carlotta, what a name!"

Katie directed me to the lab and said she would be up to brief us as soon as everyone arrived. Dexter, Abigail and Joe, my colleagues, were waiting for me chatting amongst the curling glass equipment.

"Ah, here she is." said Dexter as I walked in.  
"Hi guys." I said  
"Harry anywhere behind you?" said Abigail looking past me.  
"No I didn't see him, how are you finding Gotham?"  
"Well it's no Richmond-Upon-Thames that's for sure" Joe snorted.  
"Oi, I grew up in Croydon!" shouted Dexter "you little suburban angels need to get used to the city."

We all giggled together on our first day like children. Dexter always had the ability to get us giggling no matter how close a deadline or how busy we were. He and his mother lived alone in a small flat in west Croydon. He had told us all crazy stories of his early teens like when he and his friends would sunbathe on top of bus stops in the summer and swim in the fountain at Trafalgar square. It was only for his mother that he even went to school and of course for his gorgeous young biology teacher. And so, Dexter became passionate about the human body, especially hers and got top grades and continued to do so through until he finished his PhD and landed a job in neurological research. You could see his love of success through his smile. His stiff jowls framed his large teeth every time we made a breakthrough as if he did not expect to succeed. His brown eyes were flat like a burnt plane contrasting to the ruffling dark curls on his head which looked rather boyish on his tall body. He and Joe got on incredibly well despite their different upbringings. It just goes to show that one doesn't have to have been privately educated like Joe to get where we were. Joe was chunkier than Dexter. He had a real love for cooking and there had been many a time we had enjoyed a beautiful dinner party at his apartment. If he had not gone in to neuroscience he would have become a chef or even an engineer; it would have been a job where he could have put something together. I liked the way his thin hair was fluffy on top of his round head, stubble trained around his jaw and cheeks. I could only really describe his accent as very West London; soft and rolling, like Hugh Grant's. Abigail was very much like me in the sense she kept herself quiet and controlled but would laugh and smile with us when things were genuinely funny. She was born in Japan originally but had moved to the UK when her mother had her own little fairy tale when she fell for her boss during the time she worked for him as a PA. Her father was a GP so found it easy to get Abi into the medical field. When Abi was not with us working, she was most probably painting in her elegant way to create cubist pieces that would be hung all around her Gotham apartment.

"Harry, hi! Where've you been." Said Abi who had been watching the door.

Abi went to him before he could reach us and embraced him in a private moment. We all knew that she had felt something for him but little Harry didn't really seem to respond much unless he had some alcohol down him. Harry was only two inches taller than the five foot seven Abigail whose black hair stuck to his olive face as she pulled away from him. Abi had lovely green eyes, still slanted but wide and she had creamy skin that had the remains of a golden Japanese tone. Harry lingered by her for a moment before looking over to us. Although confident and cocky, we had never seen Harry in a relationship. Whether this is because he had feelings for Abi but just had never acted upon them we didn't know. It was not like he was bad looking, in fact Harry could really be considered gorgeous by most. His smile was wide and beautifully inviting set in an angular, stubble coated chin. His nose was gentle slope that fell down from his amber fox like eyes. It was true that you did not get many modelesque men or women working in the scientific field as most of us had little time to think about such things but for Harry, it was effortless.

"Alright guys? I got so confused trying to get here. This place is a bloody maze." Katie followed closely behind him, her bright Hollywood grin beaming and Carl behind her.

Abi's cheeks turned a jealous scarlet as Katie lingered close to Harry; it was written on her face how she hated the blonde near him and how he did not seem to notice either of them.

"Well, I am glad you have all arrived finally and we can begin the tour of the building." Katie said. "There is a lot of research going on in here and a lot I want you to know so… where is Carl? He is supposed to be showing you round the building."

We shrugged at her. I hadn't seen Carl since he met us at the airport which was good since he was a very slimy man whose eyes lingered too long around my buttocks and whose stomach pushed out from the spaces between his grubby plaid shirt. He was comfortable showing us where the bad streets in Gotham were as he pointed knowingly down each of them. Katie stamped and cast her eyes around the room as if she were expecting to find Carl the greasy orienteer hiding somewhere amongst the glass bottles and flasks, almost instantly though her annoyance was forgotten.

"Damien! I thought you were up here somewhere. Come and meet our fabulous new team. This is Dexter, Abi, Joe, Harry and Carlotta. I still can't get over that name.

Damien was quite but friendly as we were shown around the giant building of white stone and glass. Katie was speaking the truth when she had said there was a lot of research being carried out in the building, not just for medical purposes but for cosmetics and cleaning products too. The place was literally a great sterile bomb ready to go off, cash being flowed into it day after day. I was ready to work then; ready to start creating our masterpiece that would change all of our lives for good.


	3. Chapter 3

**NOTE: I apologise if you are enjoying this story but my laptop is refusing to charge even after buying a new charger so this will be my last chapter until it is fixed.**

**Dear Reader,**

**Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope you are all enjoying what I have written so far. I am trying my best to take the time to do a good job despite pressures to get on with my university work. Please let me know anything that you like or you think is lacking. Reviews and comments would be much appreciated. Kind regards, R.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend to infringe the Batman franchise or its characters. I merely wish to expand upon the brilliance that has been created in order to fulfil my longing for more.**

Our first day had been rather fun as most of it had been spent getting to know Katie and Damien. They were both very oppositely extroverted, Damien being humble and quite whilst Katie was unbelievably social and dramatic. The two of them together were the perfect balance for a work place. Despite how keen Abi was to have a quiet dinner with just us English folk Katie insisted we must celebrate our very first day by exploring the wild night life of Gotham city. Damien nodded in agreement as she bragged of the various high end bars and restaurants she could get us in to, name dropping where she could.

"My mother was the real socialite though," she explained "I have a picture of her and Bruce Wayne together but he won't be a face you will see."  
"A recluse isn't he?" said Joe.  
"Oh yes! And a God damned shame that is too because he is totally gorgeous in the flesh or so my mother told me."

As soon as we all realised Katie would take not take no for an answer it was into our cars and on our way home to get dressed up appropriately for this glamorously embellished evening to come. Abi whined about not wanting to go home because she would definitely just sit down and decide not to come out so instead she followed me back to my apartment so we could get dressed together.

"What about this?" I said, holding up a black skater dress with long sleeves.  
"Um, well it's nice but…" she said grimacing.  
"You want to stand out more?" I smirked at her. She wanted to look good for Harry that much was clear.  
"Maybe this? That is, if you weren't' planning on wearing it" she pleaded.

To be perfectly honest, the red off shoulder skater was a little too short for me and very loud indeed for dinner and drinks. However, I thought it best to dress up a little more since Katie said she would be taking us to some very posh places indeed. I let her wear the dress and I picked out an emerald coloured one made of velvet that swung just above the knee and paired it with some strappy black heels. We called a cab and walked swiftly out of my apartment leaving ribbon trails of sweet perfume behind us.

The streets of Gotham were lively as we drove past the busy markets, still full at seven o' clock in the evening. Despite the dark shadiness of it all, the people of Gotham did not look tired and poor but hard working and alive. This was not a place of destruction that was living in the shadow of the notorious Joker era that had long since passed; it was dangerous, yes but exciting and unpredictable. We pulled up to what I thought could not be the right place. The restaurant had an aubergine paint job on the outside wall and a large bouncer guarded the red rope across the door. There was a thin plant next to him with a bright white trunk and elegant dark green leaves that rustled as each car sped by.

"I'll give Katie a call" I said. "This place looks terribly posh."  
"I know! It looks like where Dad used to take Mum on their anniversaries."  
"Hello? Hi Katie, it's Carlotta... Yes we're outside now… the purple one..? Yes, ok we will see you in there. Bye." I hung up the phone. "This is the place Abs. Katie said to just go and tell the bouncer who we are with.

We paid the taxi driver and trotted across the road standing as tall as we could. He smiled at us as courteously as any bouncer would at two sober, dressed up twenty five year olds.

"Good evening ladies. Do you have a reservation?"  
"Hello, yes we do. The rest of our party is inside under the name of Hamilton, Katie Hamilton." Abi spoke with such ease as she rehearsed her father's own words that she had grown up with.  
"Of course miss." He unclasped the rope and we were met by a concierge.  
"Reservation for Hamilton?" I asked copying Abi who grinned next to me.  
"This way ladies; the rest of your party is already seated."

The small corridor opened out into a large sleek room painted the same aubergine colour. All of the glass wear and crockery on the tables were a shiny black, each table cloth a rich royal purple. Abi certainly stood out in this softly lit room. The concierge handed us over to a waiter who took us to the large round table where everyone sat. Abi almost went as red as her dress when she say Harry who was gorgeous in grey, hair tousled, his slit fit suit showing off that modelesque waist he had and his white shirt no tie gave us a little glimpse of his chest. Joe and Deter both wore navy suits, Dexter pulling of a polka dot bow tie and Joe opting for none like Harry. Katie had straightened her hair as much as was possible the shimmering blonde locks falling over her thin shoulders and skin tight black dress. Damien sat quietly with that sweet grin on his face in a grey herringbone blazer and navy trousers, his hair slicked back into a perfectly neat ponytail.

"Ah, don't we all look gorgeous?" Katie squealed. "I am very impressed with this British fashion." She lightly slapped Harry's shoulder which turned more into a caress to which he returned an appreciative look.

I sat between Damien and Katie, Harry next to her, then Joe, Dexter Abi. I could not help thinking that Katie had purposely separated Harry away from the two of us girls so she might flirt with him for the dinner which is what she did. I could tell that Abi was constantly looking in their direction and being perfectly rude to Damien who was desperately trying to cheer her up. Katie told us that this dinner was courtesy of the company so we could choose whatever we liked.

"I'm going to drink this bar dry" Dexter said elbowing Joe. "We have to absolutely rinse this mate."  
"Of course!" said Joe excitedly.

We started with a large platter of oysters to share. They were sweet and ice cold, tangy with relish and hot with tabasco sauce. I couldn't resist ordering the game terrine for a starter served with a mouth-watering seeded roll and soft butter. It was steak and lobsters all round when the mains came out, Katie delicately breaking each shell and Dexter wolfing down the think bloody rump steak. There was plenty of meat going on each beautiful red lobster but Katie insisted on feeding pieces to Harry who took them too willingly for Abi to bear.

"Excuse me." Abi left the able and headed briskly toward the toilets.  
"Better tone it down a little don't you think Harry?" said Joe.  
"You're together? Oh, I had no idea" Katie gasped.  
"You did have a bit of idea." said Damien piping up, Katie scowled at him in return.  
"No we're not together. We never have been we're just friends." said Harry defensively.  
"I'll go and see if she is alright." I said getting off of my chair.

I looked back and there were a lot of sullen faces at our table as they continued to talk about the situation. Abi was in the loo leaning against the marbled work tops sighing to herself, her face crumpled.

"You ok Abs?"  
"Yes, yes, please don't make a fuss I just wanted some time away from Katie. She's so loud."  
"She didn't know about you and Harry…" I started.  
"What about Harry and I?" she snapped. "We're just friends and she is just getting on my nerves okay?"  
"Okay but you can talk to me about this. It is obvious you don't like her being with him."  
"I'll be out in a minute. He can do what he wants."

She crossed her arms letting me know she had no more to say about the matter so I left her. Everyone asked me if she was alright when I came back but she returned quickly so that any more conversation about her could be stifled.

"Let's get pissed shall we, lads?" she raised her glass to Dexter and Joe and necked her glass of white wine.  
"I'll agree with that" said Dexter necking his wine too and so I followed as did Joe and Damien who struggled a little.

It was only Katie and Harry that were still frowning at the table and casually sipped their wine while the awkwardness still hung over them. Gradually though, we all got very drunk indeed. I remembered the first bar we went to was full of LED lights like race tracks covering the walls and the ceilings. The shots there were just as colourful, illuminated by the lighted bar and blue flame atop them. There was glamour as far as the eye could see, men in tailored suits, girls with gargantuan boob jobs and bottles of Moet being drunk by the gallon. It was a night I would never forget; it was the first night I tasted the glamour of Gotham. It was a shimmering glaze so bright that we could not see the engulfing darkness that slowly crept up from below.


End file.
